By Handley
Essex,
United Kingdom 
Who did this ?
Sorry to introduce this among all the pretty pictures of petunias but I'm having to clear two or three deposits of the stuff every day. The trowel in the picture shows its size.
Is it cat, fox or squirrel ? Whoever it is comes in overnight and ignores the £65-worth of sonic alarms and fake cat shapes.
I'm asking you guys because I've been banned from an airgun site for asking if there is any non-lethal ammunition - the airgun equivalent to rubber bullets, baton rounds - that would scare off a cat. The mere hint of shooting at a cat has put me in the category of baby killer.
So what animal is fouling my garden and how can I deter it ?
On plant
Botanical name ? I've a 4-letter name for it.
28 Sep, 2012
Answers
Definitely not a cat, whatever it is.
28 Sep, 2012
Shooting anything even with non lethal rounds is a gross over reaction. Learn to live with the poo. It is not the end of the world.
28 Sep, 2012
Fox poo. The blackness is the main identifier. If you encourage the fox it will deter the cats for you!
28 Sep, 2012
DO NOT SHOOT AT ANY ANIMAL WITH ANY THING !!! It's an inhuman thing to do, and would cause them unnecesary harm and pain ...
You could get a cat of your own. It would chase all the offending ones away.
28 Sep, 2012
Thanks everybody. The majority opinion from Cammomile, Bamboo and Bulbaholic seems to be a fox. So Anchorman and Hywel - I won't be shooting cats even though I don't like the self-centered creatures.
However: how do I deter a fox that comes in the night ? Animal crap in the garden may not be the end of the world but it's not violets neither.
28 Sep, 2012
Good question, if you find an a good answer, I'd be interested to hear about it. I haven't found anything that deters our local foxes from doing whatever they like at night in our garden.
28 Sep, 2012
the cats that invade my garden do not bury their mess
28 Sep, 2012
you can buy lion poo, it dont smell to us but deters cats foxes badgers ect... just place it around the borders or you can "mark your scent" around the edges of you garden every now and then and that should work too.
28 Sep, 2012
For Foxes, preventing them getting in your garden will generally stop them. So any gaps in fences, walls etc. Thorny plants will also put off cats and foxes from entering your garden.
28 Sep, 2012
Helen, I believe its the boss cat who doesn't bury and the more subordinate ones do! But agree, this isn't cat poo anyway.
30 Sep, 2012
If it is a fox, you will need a very high fence to stop them, my fence is 8ft high and they have no trouble getting over that, Derek.
1 Oct, 2012
Thanks for your advice, folks. Since sonic alarms and fake cats don't work, I am trying to think like a fox ... I am peeing all over my garden to mark it as my territory.
I hope this works before I get arrested.
4 Oct, 2012
my sisters oh does it all the time to keep the foxes out, works like a treat!
5 Oct, 2012
Remind me never to look in other people's gardens at night - I might see something I'd rather not!! Does this go on all over the land?
6 Oct, 2012
I'd say its a fox. We have security lights but who is up in the middle of the night to see them come on? Cats bury their poo so its not a cat.
28 Sep, 2012